adjectiveadverb

lento

slow

Que se mueve o actúa con poca rapidez.

Definition & meaning

The word lento primarily means "slow." It is used to describe an action, movement, or process that happens at a low speed or takes a long time to complete.

There are several nuances to its usage:

Physical speed: Describing something that moves slowly, such as a vehicle or an animal.
Rate of progress: Describing a process or development that is not fast, such as a "lento crecimiento" (slow growth).
Intellectual pace: It can sometimes be used to describe someone who is slow to understand or react, though this can be pejorative depending on the context.
Music: In a musical context, it refers to a slow tempo.

Grammar & Word origin

Grammar: Lento is an adjective. Like most Spanish adjectives, it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies:

Lento: masculine singular
Lenta: feminine singular
Lentos: masculine plural
Lentas: feminine plural

While lento is an adjective, the word despacio is more commonly used as the adverb (meaning "slowly"), although in some regions and informal contexts, lento may function adverbially.

Word Origin: The word comes from the Latin lentus, which originally meant "flexible," "tough," or "tenacious," and later evolved to mean "slow" or "sluggish."